Rafael Espericueta, BakersfieldMember Since September 2008Artist Statement Rafael is a mathematician who considers mathematics to be the ultimate abstract art. He has been exploring ways to make the beauty of mathematics apparent to non-mathematicians, by finding ways to make it visible. Fractals are mathematical creatures which when visualized become extremely interesting patterns of color and form. They have the interesting property that a small part of the fractal can be an accurate depiction of the entire fractal; each part contains the whole! Rafael has been exploring fractal art, and ways to combine fractals with photographs, as well as with original abstract art. The viewer of Rafael's art is also a co-creator of it. Viewing it at different times will often elicit new images. His art points to the ecstatic cosmic Now that is the root of our very existence. Out of that eternal "big bang" all forms crystallize, evolve, and dissolve back into the shimmering void that is the ground of all being.